


Stealing Hearts and Stealing Crowns

by A_Hollow_Descent, wolfpawz



Series: Kingdom Of Clearbrook AU [1]
Category: Octopath Traveler (Video Game)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Co-Written, Kingdom Of Clearbrook AU, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Phantom Thief Therion, Prince Alfyn, an explantation of the au in the notes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-28 18:24:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15712611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Hollow_Descent/pseuds/A_Hollow_Descent, https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfpawz/pseuds/wolfpawz
Summary: "I don't need that crown of yours anymore," Therion said, striding towards the prince. "I've stolen something way more valuable.""And what might that be?" Alfyn sputtered, taking a step back from the thief. He soon found himself pinned against the glass door, the smirk of the shorter man illuminated in the moon light."Your heart." He responded, planting a small kiss on Alfyn's lips.





	Stealing Hearts and Stealing Crowns

**Author's Note:**

> Plot and editing: Hollow  
> A big chunk of the writing: Wolfpawz
> 
> Au explantations found here: a-hollow-descent.tumblr.com/post/176772045629/kingdom-of-clearbrook-au

"I heard that master thief is at it again," Tressa informed Alfyn, absentmindedly stirring her drink. "Stole a necklace off a dancer as she was on stage over in Sunshade."

“Really?” Alfyn laughed. “He or she is really at it as of late.”

“I think it’s a he,” Tressa told him, taking a sip. “I mean, Therion is a really masculine name.”

“Yeah, but what if?” Alfyn brought up.

“No one has ever seen Therion, so no one can say for sure what their gender is.” Tressa dismissed. “There’s only one thing people can be sure of about them.”

“What’s that?”

“They’ll steal anything and everything they can get their hands on, that's for sure,” Tressa said, leaning in closer. “Not even the gold in your treasury is safe.”

“Don’t say stuff like that Tressa!” Alfyn chuckled. “You have the same chances of getting robbed too!”

“Me? Ha! No way, I’ll beat em’ with a stick if they try so much to get away with my goods without paying!” Tressa resounded, getting up and picking up a branch on the ground. She began to swing it around to emphasize her point, stopping when she almost hit someone behind her.

“Woah!” The person ducked under her stick, dropping the papers they were holding. The posters slipped out of the person’s arms and went everywhere on the ground.

“Ah! I’m so sorry!” Tressa apologized, dropping the stick and going on her knees to gather the posters. Alfyn, concerned for the person Tressa almost hit, came over.

“Hey, are you alright?” He said, hovering over the scene.

“Yeah, I’m fine-” The person noticed Alfyn, got up, and bowed. “Your Royal Highness! This is nothing you have to worry about, please leave it to us, I wouldn’t want you to get your suit dirty after all.”

The person went back down and picked up a handful of posters along with Tressa. Alfyn spotted one at his feet and picked it up, it depicted a poorly drawn man.

Short hair covering one eye, with a scarf and poncho. Not to mention the displeased look on his face. There was a description of the man below the picture.

“A warning to the citizens of Clearbrook, look out for this man. Don’t let him get near you, he is highly dangerous and aggressive.” Alfyn read the words on the poster out loud. “Who is this?”

“Him?” The person stood up, having picked up all the posters. “That’s the master thief who’s been going around and stealing in the other areas around here, Therion.”

“Oh yeah!” Tressa shot up, with the other posters in hand. “We were just talking about him, right Alfyn?”

She came around, pointing at the illustration. “I told you it was a he. Thought this could’ve been drawn a bit better-”

“Alright alright.” Alfyn gave the poster to Tressa while he addressed the other person. “Why are you putting up posters? He’s not in town am I right?”

“Oh no, Your Royal Highness haven’t you heard? He recently made a statement, saying that he’s coming to Clearbrook.” The person informed him. “He wrote it on a wall in Sunshade, supposedly in someone’s blood.”

“Oooooh, spooky,” Tressa responded. “So he’s a murderer too?”

“Again, that’s just according to rumor, no one confirmed it was actually blood or not, or that it was even Therion who wrote that. For all we know, it could be some new thief trying to make their way up in the world.” The person suggested.

“Then why put up posters for looking Therion?” Alfyn wondered.

“Just making sure Your Royal Highness.” The person said. “Now if you excuse me, I will put up the rest of these posters around the kingdom.”

The person bowed once more and headed on their way.

“Well, I think it’s time for me to get going too. The town square is going to be filling up with people at this time of day. Don’t want to miss out on that.” Tressa said, hoisting her large bag onto her shoulders. “You know what they say, time is money! Wanna come with?”

“I think I’ll pass this time,” Alfyn said, his mind was preoccupied. “I’m going to back to the castle.”

“Well, okay then,” Tressa commented, starting to turn the other way. “See you later.” And with that, she was gone.

“Now, to report this to the chief in command…” Alfyn mused, heading towards the castle grounds. He walked through the streets, every so often getting a wave or a smile from passersby. He smiles and waves at each and every one of them.

A prince has to keep a good image with his subjects after all.

If he doesn’t, he worried that his people would say things about him.

He neared his home, a very large castle with a vast lawn full of trees and wildlife. The grass was nicely kept, trees with branches trimmed to perfection, and all of the animals seemed very comfortable, even when he passed them by.

It was good to be home. The more he got closer, the taller everything seemed to get. To some people, this may seem intimidating. But for Alfyn, this was part of his everyday life.

The moment that he entered the castle, his personal assistant came up to him and bowed. A short black haired girl in a simple navy blue dress. “Hello, Your Royal Highness. Welcome back, is there anything I can get you?”

Alfyn smiled at the young woman. “Could you find me the chief? It is of most importance that we speak, and as soon as possible.”

“Of course. Will that be all?” She said.

“Yes it is, thank you.”

The woman bowed once more and walked away. Alfyn watched her go until she was out of sight. Then he went up to his room. Now, to most people, a bedroom is where you sleep and get dressed in the morning. For Alfyn, it was a room where he could either spend his time thinking, work, sleep, and read books.

He rather liked stories about adventures, mysteries, and a little romance. A strange genre of romance (wink-wonk). He knew it wasn’t what most people read. When he was young, he had stumbled upon one of these books by accident.

But now was not the time to think about those things. He needed to gather his thoughts for what he would say to the chief, and soon. For he knew that the chief would be able to help him, although the man was a little on the interesting side. So Alfyn decided to think and plan his words carefully.

Grabbing his battle tactics textbook, he made his way through the castle, stopping in front of the chief’s door. He knocked five times before saying something.

“Hello? It’s me, Alfyn. Can I come in?” He said, patiently waiting for an answer from the other side. There was a bit of scuffling coming from the other side, then the door opened to reveal a smaller man in a full suit of armor. Just without his helmet. This was one of the chiefs, Finn McCormac.

“Your Royal Highness!” He beamed. “You don’t need to knock. Come in come in!”

The room was the same as ever, it smelt of alcohol and a cool-sweet aroma, he knew it was mint chocolate. The room was also notably covered in armor and blueprints for more armor.The short man plopped down on a chair and picked up a bottle of alcohol from under it.

“Are you really going to drink while on the job? While I’m right in front of you?” Alfyn asked.

“Uh, yeah. You drink with me too.” He responded, handing Alfyn a bottle. He gently pushed it away.

“Thanks but no thanks,” Alfyn said, taking a seat by the man.

The man shrugged. “Eh? Suit yourself.” The man poured himself a drink, spilling some on the floor.

“Sir, are you drunk?” asked Alfyn, a look of concern falling onto his face. This was a continuous problem with the chief, but Alfyn could never find in himself to fire the man cause of it.

“Maybe, maybe not. You’ll never know...” the man said, smiling and have a small giggling fit.

Alfyn stood up. “Er, maybe this isn’t a good time. I’ll come back when you’re sober enough to listen.” He said, starting to make his way to the door.

“No no! Wait! We can still talk, can’t we?” The man asked.

Alfyn stopped to look at the man. He seemed to be extremely drunk. “No, I will not stay. It is clear to me that you might not be able to comprehend the important matter that I have to tell you. Until you are sober, I will keep to myself. Blimey, you might not even remember this conversation either. Good day, sir.” Alfyn turned away again and walked out the door.

The chief just shrugged and went back to his drinking. Once the door was closed, Alfyn sighed. Now, what was he supposed to do?

“Why hello there Your Highness.” A tall man with ethereal white hair came forward. He was also dressed in a suit of armor. This was one of the other chiefs in command, Eliseo Myers. “Was Finn giving you some trouble? I apologize for the things he might have said or done.”

“It’s alright Eliseo. I was just needing someone to report to, that’s all.” Alfyn explained. “It’s clear that Finn that isn’t in a state to talk to right now.”

“Again?” The man narrowed his eyes at the door. “One moment Your Highness.”

Eliseo stomped into Finn’s room before he closed the door Alfyn could hear Eliseo start to yell. “Finn! Are you drinking on the job again?! I swear if I see you…”

“Hey! Drinks taste better during the day…!” Finn tried to reason.

Eliseo dealt with Finn swiftly and came out of the room.

“Now I’m able to talk.” He suggested, gesturing to the room next to the Finn’s. “Come, let us have a chat. Would you like a drink? I can summon your servant to get something if you would like.”

“No thanks. I am not thirsty right now. And besides, she has been working tirelessly lately. She deserves to rest. Though I will gladly tell you the current circumstances.” Alfyn said.

The two men made their way into the following room. Like the previous room, it had the minty smell. Unlike in the previous room, it did not smell like alcohol. Instead, it smelled like flowers.

Freshly cut flowers were in a vase on the desk.

Eliseo pulled up a chair and gave it to Alfyn to sit in, “So, what appears to be the problem?”

“I was wondering if you could up security for the next few days, station a few guards around town, mostly near the castle,” Alfyn told him. “I fear for the safety of our treasury.”

“And why might that be my prince?” He asked, genuinely curious.

“You’ve heard of the thief Therion? One of the townspeople today told me that he is making his way towards Clearbrook, aiming for our treasure.”

“I see. And so you think that this Therion will come to steal our treasure?” Eliseo pondered.

“I don’t think so. I know so. He is coming, and even if it wasn’t Therion, someone is coming for our treasure.” Alfyn stressed. “It won’t be just us that they’re aiming for, the whole kingdom is going to be exposed to this thief. I don’t want anything bad to befall onto this kingdom, possibly driving it into chaos. I want to be sure that everyone is safe.”

“So we station more guards?” The armored man asked.

“Yes, if you could do so as soon as possible, that would be great.” Alfyn requested, sliding the book he got to Eliseo. “Perhaps some of the diagrams in here to position your soldiers correctly.”

Eliseo nodded in agreement, seeing that there was not much to be said, Alfyn got up from his chair. “That is all I wanted to say, I’ll take my leave now. Have a good night sir!”

“Good night, Your Highness!” He waved. “I’ll be sure to take your requests into mind.”

“Thank you.” Alfyn walked away, satisfied.

**Author's Note:**

> Since this is a series, there will be other fics focusing on the POVs of the other characters as well. I hope you will take the time to read them in the future when me and wolfpawz write them! -Hollow


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